Finally, it came out—
Jiang Lu looked at the old man standing before her. He wore a black robe embroidered with golden patterns at the cuffs and collar, and clutched a golden Staff tightly in his hand.
His white hair fluttered continuously under the influence of spiritual power, yet his face bore not a single wrinkle of old age.
A spell cultivator!
One of the strongest Dao cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation Realm.
Among the hundred arts of cultivation, they stood at the forefront.
Powerful spell cultivators needed no external objects; they could use any surrounding medium to launch attacks.
However, the requirements for entering this path were high. One needed formidable spiritual power and mana, and the demands on one's Spiritual Roots were extremely stringent.
She had not expected to encounter a spell cultivator in such circumstances.
The staff in his hand continuously emitted waves of white light, and the barrier around them was stabilized by that very radiance.
When Fu Yao saw him, she hurried over excitedly, her tone carrying a trace of respect.
Elder An had finally appeared. But he had actually set up a barrier—could there be something wrong with this Magic Beast?
"Elder An."
Elder An nodded, then looked at the irritable Magic Beast outside the barrier, his voice low.
"This Magic Beast's strength is close to the sixth rank. I am no match for it alone. Watch over the disciples and have them recover their strength quickly. We can only wait for the other elders to arrive."
Fu Yao's expression immediately turned tense at those words.
Elder An was a Nascent Soul Middle Stage cultivator, yet even he claimed he was no match for it. Just how terrifying was this Magic Beast's strength?
She immediately turned and arranged for the injured disciples to take medicinal pills and recover.
"Junior Brother Ren, how did you discover it?"
She then stopped before someone and looked at him as she asked.
Ren Haotian, a personal disciple of the Sunrise Sect, ranked third.
Ren Haotian sat cross-legged. As he exhaled, his hands slowly lowered. Feeling the spiritual power within him steadily recover, a trace of relief appeared in his eyes.
When Fu Yao came to question him, he immediately rose and bowed in reply.
"Senior Sister Fu, this is what happened."
"That day, we entered from the dense forest. It was originally an ordinary training expedition, and the demon beasts we encountered at first were fairly normal. But later, we discovered new spirit plants appearing at every interval, so we went to gather them. Yet as we walked, we realized we had lost our way."
"Then we arrived here and found that the aura around us was vastly different from before. It was also extremely quiet everywhere. I had a faint feeling that something was wrong."
"Later, we accidentally entered the Magic Beast's cave. It had been cultivating inside, and our arrival disturbed it. That was why it chased us down and forced us to flee."
After saying this, Ren Haotian felt quite helpless as well. They had been far too unlucky. Besides, the team he led had merely come to make up the numbers. Who could have expected them to find it faster than those disciples who had actually been assigned missions?
The crowd could not help being speechless. Was this what it meant to plant willows without intent, only for them to grow into shade?
"Master, you need to be careful!"
Chi Li's voice was somewhat guilty. It seriously suspected that the Magic Beast had looked at its master earlier because the Spirit Pearl aura on it and that stinking dragon had not yet been completely concealed.
Noticing the trace of unnaturalness in Chi Li's tone, Jiang Lu's gaze at the Magic Beast deepened.
Could it be that the Spirit Pearls carried by her two Spirit Beasts belonged to this Magic Beast?
This... truly was an ill-fated bond.
Thinking of this, Jiang Lu immediately gripped the spirit sword in her hand and stared unblinkingly at the irritable Magic Beast outside the barrier.
Her Divine Sense continuously searched through her spatial storage for something that could entangle it. Her strength was not high, so she could only seek another method.
The sky gradually darkened. The Magic Beast's savage giant claws slammed viciously against the glowing white barrier one after another like a torrential rainstorm.
Every strike carried an earthshaking muffled boom. Great sections of the thick energy wall instantly caved in, fine cracks rapidly spreading from the points of impact. The entire barrier shuddered violently, its flowing light flickering bright and dim, as though it would shatter with a thunderous crash the very next moment.
Elder An stood at the very front of the barrier, his knuckles turning white around his Staff. His back teeth ground together with a creak, while scorching cold sweat continuously ran down his cheeks and soaked his gray-white beard beneath his chin.
The spiritual power around him was being continuously depleted. His chest rose and fell sharply, and his gaze remained fixed on the constantly cracking barrier, anxiety churning in his heart.
The surrounding disciples held their breaths, none daring to make the slightest sound. Everyone gripped their weapons tightly, their backs taut as drawn bowstrings, their eyes unanimously fixed upon the Magic Beast and Elder An.
Everyone anxiously prayed for the other elders to arrive as soon as possible. The barrier could not hold for much longer. Once it shattered, every cultivator present would become food for this Magic Beast.
Besides, even if they joined forces with the elders and defeated this Magic Beast, it would still be a case of injuring the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred of their own.
In the shadows...
There were quite a few demon beasts watching with tigerish eyes.
"If only we had an array master. Then Elder An would not have to struggle alone to hold the line."
A disciple suddenly said.
"Why?"
Jiang Lu looked at him in confusion.
"Fellow Daoist, you likely do not know this. Arrays can trap enemies, but they can also save oneself. In a situation like this, if we set up a defensive array, we could wait for reinforcements within it without lifting a finger."
The disciple continued.
Jiang Lu looked astonished. It could be done like that?
Then, on second thought, it did make sense. It all depended on how one used an array.
It was as though Jiang Lu had opened the door to a whole new world. If arrays could be used this way, then perhaps the same could be attempted with the other hundred arts as well.
Suddenly—
The barrier gave a cracking sound. Jiang Lu heard it and looked up along with the others.
The Magic Beast's previous blow had used all its strength and smashed a crack into the entire barrier!
She immediately looked toward Elder An. His aura had grown unsteady, as if he had already reached his limit.
Jiang Lu inwardly cried that things were bad.
The Magic Beast had already reached the brink of fury. If the barrier could not hold and Elder An's mana failed as well, they would be in grave danger.
What she had feared came to pass.
The Magic Beast struck again, and amid the violent tremors, the barrier shattered completely.
Everyone immediately stumbled back in panic.
Elder An spat out a mouthful of blood. He swung his Staff and sent a blast of mana at the Magic Beast before retreating several steps.
Fu Yao immediately stepped forward to support him, worry filling her eyes.
"Elder An!"
"Do not mind me. Set up the array, quickly!"
After saying that, Elder An shoved Fu Yao's hand away.
Fu Yao nodded, then raised her sharp blade and pointed it at the Magic Beast.
"Disciples, form the array!"
At once, everyone scattered. Jiang Lu watched them and immediately retreated to one side.
Watching the busy crowd, her left eye twitched wildly. Why did she have such a bad feeling?
Then her gaze collided with the Magic Beast's.
Jiang Lu:...
Magic Beast:!!!
The instant their gazes met, the Magic Beast bared its fangs and pounced at Jiang Lu.
She carried the aura of its Spirit Pearl!
It was this human who had ruined its good thing!
Damn it!
Jiang Lu immediately turned and ran!
It was over!
Before you continue